Follow us on social

Shutterstock_1241301478-scaled

How the US can protect human rights in the Middle East

American militarism has done nothing to alleviate human rights abuses in the Middle East. In reality, it has exacerbated them.

Analysis | Middle East

The events of the summer of 2020 drove Americans’ sense of national pride to historic lows. For many Americans, footage of federal troops attacking protesters in U.S. cities evokes images that Americans are more accustomed to seeing in authoritarian countries. Although the news cycle has largely moved on, state and local governments continue to violate the rights of Americans protesting police brutality; meanwhile, U.S. condemnation of human rights abuses abroad increasingly rings hollow.

Yet from the perspective of many non-Americans, the United States’ commitment to human rights has long been insincere. The hypocrisy of U.S. support for human rights is perhaps nowhere more apparent than in the Middle East. The American government’s long-standing support for regional dictators, regardless of the crimes they commit against their own citizens, sends the message that the United States will not use its leverage with these governments to protect human rights, a point clearly demonstrated by news this week that the State Department cleared arms sales to these same dictatorial regimes without considering the risk of civilian casualties. This is abundantly clear to local citizens, yet remains difficult for many Americans to comprehend. While Americans are aware that the U.S. does not always live up to its more noble aspirations abroad, many continue to insist that U.S. control in the region represents the least bad option for its inhabitants. 

Many Americans tend to assume that U.S. military dominance in the Middle East is preferable because the United States will support a notion of human rights in its own (self) image. By logical extension, control by a non-democracy such as China or Russia would engender authoritarian injustices. Yet asserting that the region’s inhabitants would suffer in the absence of the U.S. military ignores the suffering the region has endured as a result of the U.S. military’s presence. Paying lip service to humanitarian concerns while actively pursuing American military hegemony undermines good faith efforts to protect human rights.

A recent report from the Quincy Institute argues that the U.S. should condition engagement with security partners on addressing human rights concerns. At present, the U.S. makes no such demands. For the population of Yemen, U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition has, in fact, extended the war. Under both Presidents Obama and Trump, the U.S. government has exhibited little concern for Yemenis’ rights and lives. From Yemen’s perspective, Chinese or Russian control could hardly be worse.

Meanwhile, Saudi dissidents have lost hope that the U.S. might finally use its leverage to rein in government repression that has significantly intensified under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The UAE’s abuse of citizens, inhabitants, and even visitors also tends to go unremarked.

For the population of Egypt, U.S. military aid continues to prop up the regime of President Sisi, empowering him to persecute anyone suspected of disloyalty, including U.S. citizens.

The oldest blemish in the illusion of U.S. support for human rights in the Middle East has been America’s willingness to both tolerate and fund Israel’s disregard for Palestinians’ rights over decades of occupation.

The U.S. continues to maintain relationships with these abusive regimes because doing so serves its goal of military hegemony in the region. Until the U.S. abandons this unnecessary and costly objective, it will continue to fund and arm dictators eager to drag it into additional conflicts. 

Despite our dismal record of shoring up authoritarianism, the reason so many Americans persist in the belief that the U.S. is the region’s best hope for human rights is that many of us would like it to be true. Americans continue to believe, or to wish we could believe, in the image of our country as a beacon for democracy. 

American hypocrisy in the Middle East did not begin with the Trump administration. For that reason, even if presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins the election, he cannot simply revert to a pre-Trump foreign policy. If Biden wishes to contribute to meaningful stability in the region, the U.S. needs to adopt a completely new paradigm in its approach to the Middle East.

The first step actually requires a shift in domestic policy: the United States must address the systemic injustices resulting from white supremacy. Governments around the world are watching to see how the U.S. handles the current crisis of legitimacy, as governing institutions struggle to respond to popular demands to rectify human rights abuses endemic in American law enforcement. Admitting to mistakes and adopting reforms would offer a model for security partners to follow, while disarming rivals who revel in American hypocrisy. 

The next step is for the American government to adopt a multilateral approach to human rights. The U.S. and the region would be better served by prioritizing multilateral engagement, where the U.S. acts as one of many interested parties, rather than undertaking the costs and responsibilities that result from the unilateral use of force. By modeling diplomatic involvement in a multilateral process, the U.S. would strengthen international cooperation while earning greater respect, opening the door to more constructive interactions with governments currently seen as adversaries.

But acting multilaterally requires letting go of America’s longstanding pursuit of regional hegemony. Only embracing a new paradigm for U.S. involvement in the region, one premised on cooperation and diplomacy rather than coercion and aggression, will allow the U.S. to act in a manner that aligns with the values that many Americans still believe distinguish this country.

Thanks to our readers and supporters, Responsible Statecraft has had a tremendous year. A complete website overhaul made possible in part by generous contributions to RS, along with amazing writing by staff and outside contributors, has helped to increase our monthly page views by 133%! In continuing to provide independent and sharp analysis on the major conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the tumult of Washington politics, RS has become a go-to for readers looking for alternatives and change in the foreign policy conversation. 

 

We hope you will consider a tax-exempt donation to RS for your end-of-the-year giving, as we plan for new ways to expand our coverage and reach in 2025. Please enjoy your holidays, and here is to a dynamic year ahead!

Children inspect a bombed out school in Taiz, Yemen (Photo: anasalhajj / Shutterstock.com)
Analysis | Middle East
Russia Putin
Russia's President Vladimir Putin speaks during a session of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool

Peace denied? Russian budget jacks up wartime economy

Europe

On December 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the budget law for 2025-2027. The Duma had earlier approved the law on November 21, and the Federation Council rubber stamped it on November 27.

The main takeaway from the budget is that Russia is planning for the long haul in its war with NATO-backed Ukraine and makes clear that Russia intends to double down on defense spending no matter what the cost. While the increased budget does not shed light on expectations for a speedy resolution to the war, it is indicative that Moscow continues to prepare for conflict with both Ukraine and NATO.

keep readingShow less
Committee Hearing: The Imperative to Strengthen America's Defense Industrial Base and Workforce
Top Image Credit: Senate Committee Hearing: The Imperative to Strengthen America's Defense Industrial Base and Workforce (YouTube/Screenshot)

Industry: War with China may be imminent, but we're not ready

Military Industrial Complex

Military industry mainstays and lawmakers alike are warning of imminent conflict with China in an effort to push support for controversial deep tech, especially controversial autonomous and AI-backed systems.

The conversation, which presupposed a war with Beijing sometime in the near future, took place Wednesday on Capitol Hill at a hearing of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) entitled, “The Imperative to Strengthen America's Defense Industrial Base and Workforce.”

keep readingShow less
Diplomacy Watch: Still tap dancing around NATO for Kyiv

Diplomacy Watch: Still tap dancing around NATO for Kyiv

QiOSK

Kyiv and Moscow both hinted this week at their shifting expectations and preparations for a potentially approaching conclusion to the Ukraine War, amid a frantic push from the Biden administration to “put Ukraine in the strongest possible position” ahead of President-elect Trump’s inauguration in January.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan reiterated this goal as part of a Dec. 2 White House announcement of $725 million in additional security assistance for Ukraine, which will include substantial artillery, rockets, drones, and land mines and will be delivered “rapidly” to Ukraine’s front lines. The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the new package shows that the Biden administration aims to “throw oil on the fire” of the war before exiting office.

keep readingShow less

Election 2024

Latest

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.